All Harry Potter characters don't belong to me

Hart-break – Draco doesn't notice the similarities between Ginny and Ron because he has no reason to connect them. Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Eleoopy – I totally understand how busy school can get. As for who Belle has a crush on, you'll have to wait for it to be revealed. Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Feedlesteex- Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Ayumi-dono– Glad to hear you understand the Egypt thing. The Chambers did happen, just not with Ginny but with Hermione's cousin. Thank you for reading and reviewing.
JoJo - Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Jade Summers - Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Aj– you'll have wait and see what happens next. Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Iced Faerie - Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Zuvalupa - Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Molly786 - Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Isis's Rose - Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Dracomio - Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Kittybro – I'll try to update ASAP. Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Amethyst-rose – Ginny will always have ways to avoid telling Draco who she really is. She's much too afraid of losing him. Thank you for reading and reviewing.
HappiGoLucki616 - Thank you for reading and reviewing.
MoonlightPrincess – I do believe that Draco will flip too. Honesty and trust is very important in a relationship. Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Rainbow16 – Ginny will be going to Hogwarts but probably not that soon. Thank you for reading and reviewing.
CheesieCake - Thank you for reading and reviewing.
AtwistedAngel13 – I'll try to post quickly. Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Oobleck89 – I'm glad that my efforts into the detail are appreciated by you. Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Crystal Moon Magic - Thank you for reading and reviewing.
PerfectlyMe – Merry Christmas to you too (though it's kind of late). Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Kneh13 - Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Karri-Granger - Thank you for reading and reviewing.
LilliannaRose – What Year Draco is in at Hogwarts is written next to some of the titles so if you press on the chapter scroll bar you can see the timeline. Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Luver19 - Thank you for reading and reviewing.
Sweetcaroline3313 – Thank you for reading and reviewing.

Chapter Fourteen – Appreciation

"Speaking"

Thinking>

"So, what do you think?" Ginny asked excitedly.

Draco smiled weakly. "It's great," he said with as much enthusiasm as he could muster.

Ginny furrowed her eyebrows. "Is everything alright?" She asked with concern.

Draco closed the note pad and looked up at Ginny with piercing grey eyes. "Do you know Harry Potter?" He asked very seriously.

Ginny's heart skipped a beat. "Only from newspapers and books," She lied.

"What do you think of him?" He asked with the same serious voice.

"I think he's nice."

"And…"

"And…I don't know," Ginny said, beginning to get frustrated. "Why are you asking me about him?"

Draco flipped Ginny's not pad to the page where Harry's rough sketch was and showed it to her.

"Why were you sketching Harry Potter?" he demanded.

Ginny frowned and snatched her note pad back. "Why does it matter?"

"You're just like everyone else aren't you?" he said angrily. "Worshipping Potter like he's a God."

Ginny was not only angry but was now also very confused. "It's just a sketch. What are you going on about?"

Draco stood up to speak. "Then why does it have to be a sketch of Potter. Why couldn't it be some other person? Even Gildory Lockhart would be better."

"Well I've never met Gildory Lockhart!"

Draco froze and interpreted Ginny's words. "Then that means you've met Harry Potter," he said with frighteningly sudden calmness.

Ginny swallowed the lump in her throat and kicked herself for making that mistake. Now she had to think of a way to fix it. "I bumped into him at Diagon Alley and we exchanged a few words," She said guiltily.

"You must have really enjoyed that," Draco said bitterly.

"It was two sentences," Ginny protested. "I wouldn't even call it a conversation."

Draco closed his eyes and ran his hand through his hair. "I need some time alone," He said softly before walking out of the Library.

Ginny sat there feeling more confused that anything else. This reaction from Draco was very sudden and she was determined to find out what it was all about.

Draco lay on his bed on his back and covered his eyes with his arm. "What the hell am I doing?" he said to himself.

"I'd like to know too."

Draco bolted up and saw Ginny standing in the doorway. "When did you come in?" he asked surprised.

"Not long ago."

Draco looked at Ginny feeling very guilty for using her to vent his frustrations. He had never lost control like that before.

"What's wrong?" Ginny asked while walking over and sitting on the side of his bed.

"Nothing," he replied dismissively.

Ginny sought out Draco's hand and held it. "Please tell me," she pleaded.

Draco remained quiet while he considered the option of telling Ginny how he was feeling. "I hate him," he eventually said with great conviction. "His existence makes my life a living hell."

Ginny was shocked at the severity of his words. Ron had said that he, Harry and Hermione were enemies with Draco, but she didn't think he meant it literally. Draco saw the look on Ginny's face and began to explain.

"There are things that happened at Hogwarts which I didn't tell you…" He began guiltily. "It began in first year when we all found out the great Harry Potter was attending Hogwarts…"

Draco told Ginny about everything that he had kept hidden from her, from ratting on the trio in first year, to being attacked by Buckbeak to show he could do what Harry could do, and even the tasks his father had given him. He told her why he hated Harry and occasionally mentioned Ron and Hermione. Hearing about their hatred made Ginny angry, sad and scared but at least now she knew Draco's side of the story.

Draco finished speaking and watched as Ginny was quietly digesting the information. She didn't say a word as she took Draco's left arm and lifted the sleeve to reveal the scar.

"Did it hurt?" she asked while running her fingers over it lightly.

"A bit," Draco answered while Ginny kept looking at the scar. She finally understood why Draco had done the things that Ron said he did. Draco hated Harry with such a passion and it was all because he felt insecure. She looked up at him and gave him a reassuring smile.

"I understand," She said.

"You do?"

Ginny nodded. "Plus, it's not everyday I get to see you being jealous," she teased.

"Jealous? I was not!" he protested.

"You were so," Ginny said and poked him in the chest. "Or else, why would you get all mad just because I spoke to Harry Potter?"

"I was just annoyed that he was everywhere in my life. I thought that you could be the only person in my life whom didn't care about Potter and would never mention him."

"You're so silly, Draco," Ginny said affectionately.

Draco smiled at her, glad that he could get that off his chest. "But I do have something I really want to ask you."

"What is it?"

"From the two sentences that you exchanged with Potter, what do you really think of him?"

Ginny thought about it for a second. "He's polite," she answered.

Draco laughed at Ginny's reluctance to tell the truth. "You'd probably really like him if you got to meet him," he said teasingly. "Maybe even join his fan club."

"I wouldn't," Ginny answered seriously and it took Draco by surprise.

"How can you be so sure?" he asked.

"Because, I have you," Ginny said with great certainty.

Draco saw how serious she was and her words touched him deeply. He drew her into his arms to hug her tightly.

As long as I still have you> he thought.

After dinner, Draco and Ginny made themselves comfortable in the lounge room sitting in front of the fire place. It was snowing outside so the Manor felt extra cold but they sat on a warm fuzzy rug and each held a mug of hot chocolate.

"I caught the snitch in the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw match but didn't manage to get it with Gryffindor," Draco said between sips of hot chocolate. "Two times in a row now," he added gloomily.

"Does it really matter that you lost to Gryffindor?" Ginny asked.

"Of course it does. I can't lose to Potter forever."

"So, if the seeker for Gryffindor wasn't Harry Potter, then you wouldn't care."

Draco thought about it for a moment. "I'd still care, but probably not as much."

Ginny shook her head but smiled. "You are much too competitive."

Draco grinned. "Competition makes things more interesting, don't you think?"

"I guess," Ginny said reluctantly. "But don't take it too personally."

"I won't," Draco said. "As long as I win," He added.

Ginny shook her head and sighed. "So what happens when you do win against Gryffindor?"

"Well, firstly it will prove that I won Potter and that he's not the best. Secondly, it will help Slytherin win the house cup, and thirdly…" Draco deliberately stopped and left his sentence hanging.

"Thirdly what?" Ginny encouraged.

Draco smirked. "I'll tell you when I beat Potter."

"You can't do that," Ginny protested.

"Yes I can."

"Draco…" Ginny whined and he laughed.

"Alright you two," Sarah said as she entered the room, "time for bed. You'll be up early tomorrow to open up all those Christmas presents."

They both trotted up the stairs reluctant to go to sleep, but were excited that tomorrow was Christmas.

Draco was woken up by a mass jumping onto his bed and calling him.

"Wake up, Draco. It's Christmas!"

Draco cracked one eye open and was presented with a big grin surrounded by red hair.

"Let me sleep," he moaned and rolled over.

Ginny bounced on the bed and pulled his sheets off. "Come on, Draco. Don't you want to open your presents?"

Draco bolted up and rubbed his eyes. "Presents," he said before jumping off the bed and grabbing Ginny's hand to drag her down the stairs. Ginny could hardly keep up with Draco's steps but managed to reach the lounge room in one peace.

Everyone was in the room waiting for them. Martin and Sarah were on the floor sorting out Ginny and Draco's presents. Serena and Narcissa were sitting on the sofa chatting while Lucius was reading the Daily Prophet.

Draco halted when he entered the room. "Merry Christmas Grandmother, Father, Mother," he said before heading over the where the presents were.

Ginny smiled widely and went to sit in between Narcissa and Serena. "Merry Christmas Grammy, Uncle Malfoy, Aunty Nissa."

Serena gave her a kiss on the cheek and Narcissa ran her hand through her red hair, but Lucius simply grunted some response.

"Now, go and open your presents," Serena told Ginny and patted her on the back for encouragement.

Ginny grinned while standing up and heading over the where Draco, Martin and Sarah were sitting on the floor.

Wrapping paper, ribbons and presents scattered all over the lounge room after everyone had opened their presents. Lucius had retreated back to his office while Narcissa and Serena went to check up on breakfast.

Draco sat on the couch next to Ginny and admired his very own invisibility cloak. Ginny watched Draco look amazed at his gift and held her present for him in her lap. Draco eventually noticed that Ginny was sitting very still and quiet next to him so he put his cloak down to look at her.

"Merry Christmas Draco," Ginny said and handed him her gift.

Draco smiled as he accepted the present. It was wrapped in red tissue paper and tied with a green ribbon. Draco could feel that it was very soft and wondered what it was. He untied the ribbon and spread away the tissue paper to be presented with a pile of grey wool. Ginny had a huge smile on her face as she waited for Draco to try it on.

Draco looked at it more closely and saw that it wasn't just a pile of wool, it was connect and weaved it some sort of pattern. Lifting it up, he noticed that it was a long rectangular shaped object with holes and big clumps of wool here and there.

"Do you like it?" Ginny asked excitedly.

"Yeah," Draco said enthusiastically but then lowered his voice. "Er…what is it?"

Ginny giggled. "It's a scarf, silly. I made it just for you so you can wear it during winter."

Ginny looked at Draco's face while he was examining her gift and he didn't look like he liked it very much. At that moment, an owl tapped on the window and Martin went to answer it. He came back with a box in his arms and presented it to Draco.

"It's for you Master, Draco."

Draco accepted the box curiously and wondered who it was from. Seeing a note on the lid, he removed it and read it.

Dearest Draco

Here's a little gift I made for you so you can remember me when you use it.

Love Stephania.

Draco opened the lid and took out a dark green scarf with a pattern of embroidered silver snowflakes. It was a rather beautiful scarf and Draco accidentally let out a 'wow'.

Ginny looked at the beautiful scarf and then took a look at the note. "Who's Stephania?" she asked.

Draco continued to examine the scarf while he answered. "She's Blaise's little sister. I met her when I stayed at his house."

Ginny looked at the scarf Draco was examining and then turned to look at the scarf she had made. In comparison, hers looked like a mass of dirty old wool. How stupid of me> she thought. Ginny took her scarf back and Draco didn't even notice because he was busy putting Stephania's scarf back in the box.

"Time for breakfast," Sarah announced.

Draco put the box down on the floor before taking Ginny's hand and leading her to the dinning table.

Ginny had excused herself from breakfast before everyone else was done and headed up to her room. Lying on her stomach, Ginny had her scarf laid out on her pillow as she examined it.

She admitted that her choice of color wasn't very good. It was an ash grey color and combined with her poor knitting skills it really did look like a rag cloth or even worse, a mop head. Ginny rested her chin on one hand while the other picked at the holes and sections of bunched up wool.

There was a knock on the door and Draco pocked his head in. "Can I come in?"

"Sure," Ginny replied after grabbing the scarf and trying to shove in under her pillow.

Draco walked over to the bed and lay down beside her. He saw a bit of the scarf poking out of her pillow and pulled it from its hiding place.

"I was wondering where this went," he said and spread the scarf out to admire it.

Ginny thought he was scrutinizing it. "Don't," she said sadly and grabbed it to try and hide in under her stomach.

"Hey, that's mine," Draco complained.

"Stop pretending, Draco," Ginny said angrily with a hind of sadness. "I know it's ugly."

Draco delved his hand under Ginny's stomach and pulled the scarf out. Ginny couldn't stop herself from giggling because his hand was tickling her.

They both lay on their sides facing each other while Draco held the scarf in his hands.

"It's not as good as Stephania's," Ginny whispered.

"Now look who's silly," Draco said with a smile. "I love this scarf."

"No you don't," Ginny said sadly.

"Alright, maybe not enough to wear it," Draco began, "but I'll keep it somewhere safe. Folded neatly and tied with a red ribbon to remind me it was hand made by you."

Ginny smiled sadly at Draco's attempt to cheer her up but she was still jealous of Stephania's beautiful scarf. "I'll try to make a better one next time," she said.

"I'll be waiting," Draco answered with a smile, "and I gave Stepahnia's scarf to Mother."

Ginny was surprised and felt a bit guilty. "You didn't have to do that," she protested.

"I know, but I'm not going to wear it anyway. I wouldn't be caught dead wearing anything with embroidered snowflakes on it. So no embroidered snowflakes."

Ginny smiled and nodded. "Just grey and green with no embroidered snowflakes, right?"

"That would be perfect," Draco replied while he reached into his pocket, "and now for your Christmas present." He took out a card and handed it to her.

Ginny took the card and opened it.

I. O. U.

Gryffindor's Snitch

Draco

Ginny closed the card and looked back at Draco.

"Thirdly, I would give it to you," he said softly. Ginny held the card tightly as her heart beat faster and the blood rushed to her cheeks.

"Thank you," she managed.

Draco leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. "Merry Christmas, Ginny."

End of Chapter Fourteen. Thank you for reading and I hope you review.